Nut or bolt holder



Dec. 20, 1938. J HOFF NUT OR BOLT HOLDER Filed May 15, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR.

ATTORNEY Dec. 20, 1938. HOF 2,140,628

NUT OR BOLT HOLDER Filed May 15, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 k/if/gzw fJ/fl -Ww M ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 20, 1938 UNITED STATES :PATENT' OFFlCE NU'r on non nomnnJohnG.HoiI,Mamfield,0hio,a|signm-tom Tappan Stove Company, Mansfield,Ohio, a corv poration of Ohio Application May 15, 1931, Serial No.142,860

2 Claims. (01. 18H) enamel, chromium plating or other finish, and

--it is desirable that the finished side of the article present a smoothunbroken appearance. Nuts and bolts and similar securing means detract.

from the beauty of the article and also frequently rust and discolor thefinish. It is also impractical to enamel any parts which are threadedor.

tapped and it is therefore obvious that nuts, bolts or threaded partsmust be assembled after the tion and showing a modified form of nutretainen'ameling or finishing operation. I have provided a securing orfastening device which comprises a clip and a nut or bolt retainer forsecuring enameled or finished parts in placev and which is hidden fromview and which can be securedto the part to be enameled before theenameling operation.

0518:01 the objects of the inventionis to provide a securing means forsecuring a finished part to an unfinished part where it is desirable tohave the securing means hidden from view.

Another object .of my invention is to provide a mechanical structureconsisting of a part or plate having one side finished'and the otherside unfinished and which is secured to another part in such a mannerthat the nut orbolt for securing the parts in place will be hiddenfromview.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for holding a nut orbolt in inaccessible places where there is insufficient room for theoperator to hold the parts in place.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fastening device of thecharacter described which includes means for holding a nut or bolt insuch a position that bolts of varying lengths may be used thus enablingthe operator to draw the two parts together tightly.

J A further object of the invention is to provide a nut or bolt retainerwhich consists essentially of a clip adapted to be welded to theunfinished face of a plate or part the opposite face of which isenameled or finished, the cliphaving means carried thereby for looselyand ,non-rotatably supporting the nut or bolt so as to enable it to bebrought into proper alignment.

Further and more limited objects of the invention will appear as thedescription proceeds and Fig. 14} and Fig. 16 in a perspective viewillusby reference to the accompanying drawings in which severalmodifications are illustrated.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional viewshowing a plate having one side finished and secured to'anunfinishedpart by means of my improved device; Fig. 2 is a verticalsectional view on tht line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a fragmentaryperspective view showing the clip secured to the unfinished face of aplate and with the nut retainer "removed therefrom; Fig. 4 is aperspective view of. the nut retainer;

Fig. 51s a transverse sectional view of a modified form of my devicewhich includes a bolt retainer and means for holding the bolt againstrotation; Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view on the line H of Fig. 5;Fig. '7 is a perspective view of the bolt retainer removed from theclip; Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view' of a second modificaer;Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view on the line 0-4 of Fig. 8; Fig. 10is a fragmentary perspective view with parts broken away to moreclearlyillustrate the nut retainer; Fig. 11 is a perspective view ofanother modification of my invention disclosing a clip having meansformed integral therewith for loosely but non-rotatably supporting thenut in place; Fig. 12 is a transverse sectional view illustrating theclip shown in Fig. 11 as it will appear when inuse; Fig. 13 is atransverse sectional view on the line lS-Jl of Fig. 12; Fig. 14 is atransverse sectional view of another modification of my inventiondisclosing a modified form of nut retainer; Fig. 15 is a transversesectional view on the line II-ii of tratlng still another modificationof my invention in which a clip is provided withintegral means forholding the nut in place.

Referring now to the drawings, the reference character I designates aplate or part of the out- 0 er face of which is enameled or providedwith a suitable finish and to which is secured a clip 2 which is shapedin section as shown most clearly in Figs. 1 and 2 and which has a pairof arms 3 and 4 which are spot welded to the unfinished face of theplate I. The reference character 5 designates a part to which thefinished plate is secured by means of a bolt 6 which extends through anopening provided in the clip and is held in place by a nut I. Slidablyfitting within the clip 2 anddetachable therefrom is a mareto provide anut retainer which loosely but nonrotatably supportsthe nut. The nutretainer is In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 there is disclosed a modifled form ofretainer which is indicated by the reference character l3, shown inperspective in Fig. 7. The bolt retainer is substantially identical withthe nut retainer except that it has a bentup tongue I adapted to receivethereover a bolt l5 as shown in Fig. 5. In this case, the bolt is in thereversed position from that shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive and the nutI6 is disposed on the opposite side of the plate 5. The tongue l5engages in the slot provided in the bolt head and holds it againstrotation. The side walls of the bolt retainer are somewhat resilient andfrictionally engage the inner walls of the clip to hold the retainer inplace so that it may I be readily removed therefrom when and if desired.

In Figs. 3 and 9 there is disclosed another modified form of nutretainer which consists of a metal strip l1 bent to the shape shown inFigs. 8 and 9 so as to provide means for loosely but non-rotatablysecuring the nut in place. The bolt I8 is threadedly secured into thenut, as shown.

In Figs. 11, 12 and 13 there is disclosed another modification of theinvention which consists essentially of a metal strip 3 shaped as shownmost clearly in Fig. 11 and which has a pair of oppositely disposed arms20 and 2| which are bent downwardly, as shown in Fig. 13, to providemeans for loosely and non-rotatably supporting the nut. The bolt 22threadedly engages the nut and serves to secure the parts I. and 5together in spaced relation. In this form of the invention the nutretainer and clip are formed in one piece and the arms 23 and 24 arespot welded to the unfinished face of the plate I.

' In Figs. 14 and 15 there is disclosed a still further modification ofmy invention in which the nut retainer consists of a strip of 'metal 25bent to the shape shown in Figs. 14 and 15 and providing means forloosely but non-rotatably supporting the nut 26 which threadedly engagesthe bolt 21.

In Fig. 16 there is disclosed a still further modification of myinvention which consists of a .nut

retainer 28 shaped as shown and provided with an arm 29 and acooperating arm 30 so disposed as to provide means for looselynon-rotatably supporting the nut. The upper face of the arm 29 isprovided with spaced depressions H which form projections on' theunderside thereof which engage the nut when the bolt is tightened andserves the purpose of a lock washer. The nut retainer 28 is adapted tobe detachably secured within the clip 2.

It will now be clear that I have provided a nut or bolt retainer whichwill accomplish the objects of the invention as hereinbefore stated. Itis of course to be understood that the various modifications hereindisclosed are to be considered merely as illustrative and not in alimiting sense as the invention is limited only in accordance with thescope of the appended claims; and that further modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A mechanical structure consisting of a part having a finished faceand an unfinished face, a

second part secured in spaced relation to said first part, meansdetachably securing said parts together comprising a substantiallyU-shaped clip welded to the unfinished face of said first part andinvisible from the front thereof, a substantially U-shaped carrierslidably and detachably secured in said U-shaped clip and having aportion shaped to loosely and non-rotatably support one half of saidsecuring means, the other half of said securing means extending throughsaid clip and said second part, the opposite walls of said carrierhaving face to face engagement with the adjacent walls of said clip andbeing resilient and readily bendable and providing 'means forfrictionally securing said carrier within said clip.

2. A mechanical structure consisting of a part having a finished faceand an unfinished face, a second part secured in spaced relation to saidfirst part, means detachably securing said parts together comprising asubstantially U-shaped clip welded to the unfinished face of said firstpart and invisible from the front thereof, a substantially U-shapedcarrier slidably and detachably.

JOHN G. HOFF.

